


You Never Know

by danfics (starlight_brigade)



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: F/M, Mutual Pining, Reader-Insert, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-29 20:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14480397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_brigade/pseuds/danfics
Summary: Dan has a debilitating crush on a girl in the office. He has no idea she likes him too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This series is a request fill from my [Tumblr!](http://danfics.tumblr.com/)

Dan made a sound. 

It was a break between Grumps. Arin and Dan had taken a moment to stretch, get something to eat, and breathe some fresh air before getting back to recording. Dan had been the first one in the room, occupying himself by scrolling through Instagram while Arin prepared the recording. 

The sound he made was frustrated, mock-suffering in a way that could only mean two things: either he was looking at something he didn’t like, or he was looking at something he _really_ liked and felt like he couldn’t have. 

Arin looked over quizzically. “You alright over there buddy?”

Dan made another sound. “No,” he whined as he passed his phone to Arin, who instantly recognized what he was looking at, and why Dan would react this way. 

He took one look at your selfie on Dan’s phone and rolled his eyes, cracking a smile. 

Dan whined again. “I can’t take this, man. She’s just… so beautiful.” 

“Yep. She sure is.” Arin handed back the phone. 

Dan had been completely enamored with you since your first day working in the office. He met you during the initial walkthrough of the Space as Arin introduced you to everybody, and “smitten” was putting it lightly — he had it bad. So bad, in fact, that he couldn’t bring himself to be with other women because the feeling was too strong, and he found himself distracted, wishing she was you. He had gone months now without anything, and the depravity was getting to him. But he couldn’t seem to muster the courage to express these feelings for fear that he would trip over himself and fuck everything up. Not only were you just a cool person, you were also gorgeous beyond belief. There was no way you would go for someone like him. 

Right?

“Dude,” Arin sighed, “Just fucking ask her out.”

Dan gave Arin a look of petrified offense. “How — What do you mean, ‘just ask her out’?! Have you _seen_ her?!”

“Yeah, and she’s super cute, and totally your type, and you should go for it.” Easy for him to say. He had been with Suzy for so long, he didn’t remember what it was like to be single, to pine for a girl that may or may not like him back. 

“It’s not that easy.”

“Isn’t it?” 

“I mean…” Dan sighed. “I guess… I just… like… I don’t know…”

Arin chuckled. “How old are you again?”

Dan shot him a glare. 

“Okay,” Arin exhaled. “Worst case scenario? She says no.”

“Worst case scenario, she thinks I’m weird and never wants to talk to me again.”

“Dude, stop. You and I both know that the likelihood of that happening is very low.”

Dan sighed again, frustrated. Sure, his rational mind knew she would turn him down like an adult and be cool about it, but his deep-seeded anxieties were getting to him, and the more he thought about how much he liked her, the worse it got.

“Just do it, man,” Arin tried to sound encouraging, but it came off as more fed-up. “You’re anyone’s fuckin’ sexual pipe-dream. There’s no possible way you can fuck this up beyond repair. And on the off-chance she does say no, at least you’ll get some closure. You never know if you don’t try.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” What was wrong with him? He was a grown-ass man, fawning over a cute girl like a middle schooler. 

Not just a cute girl. _That_ cute girl. Beautiful, charming as hell, comedic timing that could put any asshole YouTuber in their place. Unapologetic, secure, convicted, unafraid of opinions. All this, and so much more underneath that he hadn’t seen yet. And, god, he wanted to see it so badly. He wanted to see what lie inside that made her the creature that was almost too good to be true. Almost. Definitely too good for him to have and subsequently ruin, as he was wont to do in these situations. 

But he couldn’t help himself. The butterflies were too strong, too prevalent. Whether he gave in or pushed them down completely, he had to do _something._

_You never know if you don’t try._


	2. Chapter 2

You made a sound. 

Suzy had taken you out for lunch. You tended to get wrapped up in your work at the office and forgot to eat, so Suzy, being the best friend you had, would make sure you took a break. Not just because she was looking out for you, but also because it was a perfect opportunity to just hang out. It was refreshing every once in a while to not have Arin around. Not that either of you disliked his company, but there were things you could talk about with Suzy that you couldn’t when he was there, as was the case with her. Going out for lunch was a pleasant occasional escape. 

Suzy had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and rather than staring off into space, you had busied yourself with Instagram. You scrolled though your distant friends and casual acquaintances posting pictures of their babies, their significant others, landscapes from vacations. Makeup artists looking breathtaking, as usual. Conventional and digital artists showcasing talent you wish you had. Brian’s bizarre and nonsensical posts from the Game Grumps account. And then, as Suzy returned and took her seat, a post from Dan. 

After a long period of unemployment, barely making ends meet with freelance work, Suzy got you the job. At first, you weren’t entirely sure about it — a gaming channel on YouTube with a name like “Game Grumps” couldn’t be a big enough deal to require an entire office. But you quickly realized upon entering that it wasn’t just a gaming channel; there was game development, animation, music, creativity of all shapes and sizes. The Grump Space was a place for artists to create and for passion to thrive. And the people had fun doing it. That was something that every employer promised, but none had delivered, until now. 

You had been completely enamored with Dan since your first day working in the office. His melodic voice, soft expression, and warm demeanor caught you off-guard, and you couldn’t help but fall, and fall hard. But the way he carried himself, radiating confidence, you had to assume he could get any girl he wanted. So how on earth could he settle for you?

The sound you made was one of longing, mirrored in your expression as you gazed at his face glowing through your screen. 

“What’s up?” Suzy asked, settling back into her seat. 

You looked up at her with sad puppy-dog eyes, almost guilty, telling her without words that you wanted what was in your hand. 

“Let me see,” she commanded, holding her hand out expectantly. You placed your phone in her hand, and she turned it to look at what you saw. 

“Aww,” she cooed, “That’s such a good picture!” She looked up at you again as she passed your phone back, and the expression hadn’t left your face. She gave you an amused smile. “Does somebody have a cruuuush?”

You whined, forehead connecting with the table. 

“I mean… it’s understandable. He’s a fucking dreamboat.” The waiter swiftly slid the leather book that contained the check onto the table without pause. “Plus he totally likes you.”

You shot upright. “Nuh-uh.”

“Mmhm,” she responded, opening the book and retrieving her phone from her purse. 

“Shut up.”

“Yep.” She produced a credit card from the inside of her phone case and began writing out a tip. You snapped out of your shock enough to realize what she was doing, and retrieved your wallet. Before you could pull out your own card, she scribbled on the receipt, closed her card inside the book, and flagged down the waiter. As he took it, you made a face at her, and she waved her hand dismissively in response. 

You returned your attention to the more important task at hand. “How do you know?”

“I can tell.” You furrowed your eyebrows at her simple answer as you looked at her in frustrated disbelief. Seeing this, she elaborated. “Dude, it’s obvious. Have you seen the way he acts around you? It’s like he’s a nervous schoolgirl.” She laughed. “Same goes for you.”

You began analyzing every interaction you had ever had with him. Maybe you were so caught up in your own flusteredness when he looked at you that you didn’t notice the feeling behind it. Maybe that wasn’t the case and you were overthinking it. Yeah, he smiled a lot and laughed at your jokes, but you had assumed it was just because he was a positive, happy guy, and he was being nice. 

Wasn’t it?

“Don’t do this to me, man,” you urged. 

“Listen, I’m just being honest. He’s totally cute, and he’s totally into you, and he’s a really good guy, and you should totally go out with him.”

You scoffed. “Would if I could, Suzy. There’s no way.”

“Why not?”

You frowned. You didn’t really have an answer. 

“Umm, are you _doubting_ yourself?” Suzy asked in impressively believable incredulity, “You’re a fucking _babe_!”

You blushed. “Stop.”

“I’m serious! I’m really not surprised he has it so bad for you. And you have it bad for him, so it would be really stupid to just leave it at that.”

You looked off to the side. She was right, you knew she was right. She was always right. Sometimes it seemed like she knew you better than you knew yourself, and that’s why you liked her. And she had known Dan for years, so she had to know what she was talking about. 

God, you hoped she did.


	3. Chapter 3

“Please tell me we never have to go through that again,” Suzy pleaded as she shut the car door behind her. 

Arin turned the key and the car rumbled to life. “We never have to go through that again.” He pulled away from the street and directed the car home. “Go through what again?”

Suzy sighed. “(Y/N) is _so_ in love with Dan. Like, it hurts. And it’s cute, but like, she won’t stop talking about it? And she refuses to tell him, or do anything, so it’s just like…”

An interested smile grew across Arin’s face, still hung up on the first sentence. “Is she.”

Suzy looked at her husband, vaguely suspicious. “Have you not noticed? She gets so stupid around him, it’s adorable.” 

Arin began laughing. “Awesome.”

“What?”

He glanced at Suzy. “Have _you_ not noticed? Dan’s got it bad too.”

“I fucking knew it. He told you?”

“Yeah, of course he told me. Even if he didn’t, it’d still be obvious. He’s not great at hiding that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Suzy leaned back in her seat and stared out the window for a few moments, lost in thought. “I feel like we should do something…”

Arin furrowed his eyebrows. “Do something? Like what?”

“I dunno, it just kinda feels like neither of them are gonna do anything about it, and they just need a little… nudge. Some encouragement? I dunno.”

“Your mom-ness is showing,” Arin teased. “Babe, there’s only so much you can do.” He put a comforting hand on his wife’s knee, in place of the eye contact he couldn’t make while driving. “I don’t know about (Y/N), but I’m sure Dan’ll get over this… whatever it is that’s hanging him up. I _know_ he will. And then they’ll go out and live happily ever after and everything’ll be all hunky dory.”

Suzy smiled up at him, trust and adoration showing through in her gaze. Whether or not he was just saying them to ease her mind and he didn’t know for certain they were completely true, the things he said always seemed to do just that: they eased her mind, exactly when she needed them to. And when things weren’t as optimistic as he could make them seem, he had a soothing way about him that told her everything was going to be okay eventually.

  


That night, the texts came pouring in. 

The first vibration from Suzy’s phone went ignored; whatever was happening that late at night, that didn’t require a call, could wait. 

Then it was Arin’s phone. Then Suzy’s phone, Suzy’s phone again, Arin’s phone again. The light from the screens lit up the room. 

Suzy stirred, waking her husband. 

“What the fuck time is it?” he mumbled. 

Suzy rolled over and picked up her phone. “2:53,” she read. Three unread texts from you. A fourth. 

_‘Suzy I can’t sleep’_

_‘I can’t stop thinking about him’_

_‘If you hadn’t said anything about him liking me back we wouldn’t be in this situation’_ , an angry-face emoji.

 _‘I’m sorry I said that, it’s probably not your fault but I’m suffering and it totally is your fault’_.

“Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck…” A steady, slow, lethargic stream of profanity emanated from Arin as he mirrored Suzy’s actions. Two unread texts from Dan. A long one and a short one.

_‘Arin man I’m sorry to bug you so late, and you don’t have to answer now, but I can’t sleep because I keep thinking about what you said, about just going for it, and I can’t decide whether it’s better to do it or not to, because there’s like a 50 percent chance that she’ll say yes and everything will be awesome, but there’s also that 50 percent chance that she’ll say no and… I don’t know, I’ll be sad.’_

Aw. Classic Dan. 

_‘I don’t want to be sad, Arin!’_

_‘I know I’m the worst’_ , Suzy responded to you, followed up with an angel emoji. _‘Watch an asmr video or something, try to sleep. Talk more tomorrow. Love you!!!’_ The multiple exclamation points were added more for reassurance than as a genuine reflection of enthusiasm. She put her phone back in its place, face-down this time, mimicking her own bodily position. 

Meanwhile, Arin tapped out his response. _‘Don’t ever fucking text me at 3 in the morning again I will kill you I will kill your whole family I will kill your first born child you stupid piece of shit’_. “Should I tell him?” he asked.

Suzy yawned, already half-asleep again. “He’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah.” _‘Love you!’_ A kiss-face emoji, and then Arin’s phone shared the same fate as his wife’s. “Here’s hoping.”


	4. Chapter 4

You couldn’t really remember whose party it was, or why it was being thrown, but at this point it didn’t really matter. Probably some YouTube thing; the Grumps has been invited as a unit, and as such, you had been asked if you wanted to go. _Sure_ , you had said, _Why not?_ All you would be doing otherwise would be sitting at home by yourself and trying to keep yourself occupied until you went to bed, so you didn’t have much of an excuse _not_ to go.

Plus, Dan was going. So there was that. 

Ever since Suzy mentioned that Dan might like you the same way that you liked him, you had started noticing every subtle nuance in his behavior, every inflection of every word. It was frustrating, not being able to enjoy your time with him because you were too busy reading too much into things. Your logical mind needed more evidence. But at the same time, you were excited at the prospect of him being there simply because you liked being around him. You weren’t the only one, of course, seeing as he was such a bright sunshine-y ray of positivity, but his presence made you happy nonetheless. 

You were never one for getting drunk, but you knew — you hoped — that the small amount of alcohol would relax your inhibitions enough to not think too hard, to just be. 

Maybe even enough to come right out and say it. 

No, probably not that much. 

Another thing you didn’t exactly remember was what events and cycles of conversations led up to where you were now: late in the hour, facing Dan on the couch. All you knew was that you had been talking, probably for hours. Maybe it was the power of suggestion, a self-fulfilled prophecy brought on by your inner want. Maybe it was the magnetism of fate that brought you together, and the chemistry between you that kept you there. Maybe he did it on purpose and sought you out, because he really did have those feelings and your speculations were based in fact after all. Whichever was the case, you had never felt so attracted, so drawn to somebody, on such a deep and innate level. 

So much so, that when Arin and Suzy, who had brought you, said goodbye and left, you didn’t care that you didn’t have a ride, you just wanted to stay; that when the party died down and it would have been weird to stay any longer, he offered to drive you home, and you trusted him enough to accept; that when he kissed you in the car, you pulled him in closer. You ached for more. You felt it, that he did too, his desire permeating from his skin to yours with every touch. 

So much so, that you brought him inside. 

Although following your lead, he was careful and slow, not wanting to scare you, no matter how impossible that would have been at that moment. Even as you tugged and pulled, practically begging for more, making it incredibly difficult for him to keep his composure, he was determined to take his time, to let the moment last as long as possible. And while the slow pace was nearly torturous, the result was exactly that: it lasted as long as you had wanted it to, as long as you both had wanted it to. 

After the fact, as you lay there, bodies and limbs intertwined, you fought the urge to fall asleep for fear that it would end, that this was all a dream — one you had had before, but never quite as vivid and real — and that he would be gone when you woke up. But you couldn’t help drifting, and as you did, you prayed that wouldn’t be the case. 

And it wasn’t. 

After the most peaceful night’s sleep you’d had in a long while, you awoke, not in a position dissimilar to the one in which you had fallen asleep in the first place. His face in your hair, yours in his collarbone, the deep breath you took as you roused from sleep was filled with his scent, and it made your insides warm and fluttery. As he mimicked your action, his arms came around you tighter, and the realization hit you that this was real, that last night was real, that he was really here. 

You smiled to yourself, settling in, truly happy for the first time in a long time. 

_Finally._


End file.
